Ronald Martinez/Getty,Ronald Martinez
While NFL executives, celebrities, pundits, and even the president have congratulated Mizzou football star Michael Sam on being the first openly gay college football player, his father was reportedly not one of those congratulating him. When Sam texted his father, Michael Sam Sr., last Tuesday to tell him he was gay, his father says, “I couldn’t eat no more, so I went to Applebee’s to have drinks. I don’t want my grandkids raised in that kind of environment. I’m old school, I’m a man-and-a-woman type of guy.” As evidence of what type of guy he is, he says he took an older son to Mexico to lose his virginity. By the time the news broke, Sam Sr., who says he loves his son, was still struggling with the news, but said “As a black man, we have so many hurdles to cross. This is just one he has to cross.” Michael Sam apparently was expecting this, as he tends to stay with friends when returning home and told the Times "I'm closer to my friends than I am to my family."